The Rivalry between Argentina’s Lionel Messi and Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo, arguably the greatest players of all time, has lasted over fifteen years now. Watching them perform their magic on the pitch has been breathtaking, and little did they know that the show they used to put on for the fans when they were young would propel them to superstardom. In fact, their rivalry has even transcended the sport of football as Ronaldo and Messi are the two most followed people in the world on Instagram, with a combined 1 billion follower count. Unfortunately, the two are well past their prime now in terms of ability to perform, but that does not diminish their greatness one bit. So, let’s look back at the greatest footballing story ever told.
Background
For the Argentine superstar, it all began in 1991 when he started playing football at just four years old. Lionel Messi was born to a working class family where he was encouraged, by his grandmother, to play football from a young age at the local club. Unfortunately, at the age of 11, he was diagnosed with Growth Hormone Disorder. The treatment cost a lot but it was graciously taken up by FC Barcelona after the executives were mesmerized by his ability on the pitch. Leo signed his first contract with the club at just the age of 13. Hesitant to leave his family behind to play football in Barcelona, he was again encouraged by his grandmother to do so. When she tragically passed away, Messi dedicated his celebration to her, and does so to this day. He then worked his way up from the youth squad to the first team and the rest, as they say, is history.
The Portuguese sensation was born in 1985 to a poverty stricken household and he started playing at just 9 years old. At the age of 15, Cristiano Ronaldo was diagnosed with a heart condition. He needed surgery but luckily made a full recovery, and went on to make his debut with Sporting Lisbon, one of the premier football clubs in Portugal. His electrifying performances on the football pitch made fans quickly fall in love with him, and a successful season with Sporting brought the young player to the attention of one of Europe’s biggest clubs. In 2003, he signed with Manchester United, becoming the first Portuguese player ever to join the celebrated British squad.
Young Stunners
Both Ronaldo and Messi suffered tragedies throughout their childhoods, but they did not let that stop them. In fact, they kept performing to the best of their abilities to arrive at Europe’s best clubs and showcase their talents in front of the entire world.
Ronaldo was an instant star at Manchester United. Other-worldly dribbling coupled with amazing skills and rocket like shot power, he quickly became a fan favorite. Breaking records just a few years after signing with the British Giant, he guided the team to numerous league titles and even a Champions League title, which is the toughest competition in Europe to win. At the end of the 2007-08 season, he earned the European Golden Shoe Award and even won the Ballon D’or (the most prestigious individual award in world football).
Meanwhile, Messi in Barca was absolutely tearing up defenses in the Spanish top flight, La Liga. Just a few years after he made his debut for the first team, becoming the youngest goalscorer in the club’s history at age 17, he also became Barcelona’s top scorer. Quick, versatile, precise in control of the ball, Messi was also a keen pass distributor, and could readily thread his way through packed defenses. His awe-inspiring ability on the ball guided the team to multiple titles, capping off a spectacular 2008-09 season by helping FC Barcelona capture the club’s first “treble” (winning 3 major European club titles in one season), which is an extremely rare feat. All of that success culminated in Messi’s first Ballon D’or at the end of 2009.
Clash of the Titans
The final of the Champions League in 2009 that Messi’s Barca won was against none other than Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo. “The Little Magician”, as he is so often called due to his heavenly ability to habitually penetrate defenses and his footballing IQ overall, winning that 2009 clash of the two best players during that time was a big factor in Messi being granted the Ballon D’or later that year.
That final in 2009 was just the first taste that the world would get of the two absolute best clashing head to head. Such a spectacle was bound to take place again, and the fans got their wish when shockwaves were sent around the football world when Cristiano Ronaldo transferred from Manchester United to Spanish Giants, Real Madrid. Now that Messi and Ronaldo were in the same league, and in the two best teams nonetheless, they were guaranteed to clash at least twice a season. Plus, they were in constant competition for who’s team would outlast the other, winning the league title at the end of the season.
Despite Ronaldo’s arrival in La Liga, it seemed like Messi stayed on top of the mountain, carrying Barca to the first ever sextuple in the history of football. 6 trophies in one season was exceptionally impressive but Messi just continued to break records, winning a staggering 4 Ballon D’ors consecutively, which was unheard of before. The famous MSN (Messi, Suarez, Neymar) trio was on a rampage in 2015 and those three were the front runners in Barcelona’s Champions League win that year.
The little magician continued to cement his legacy as one of the best to ever do it even after his famed partners, and many other teammates, left the club, as he carried Barcelona to many titles and much further than they should have gone in the Champions League campaigns. Lionel Messi finally left his boyhood club in 2021 to join PSG but now plays for Inter Miami C.F in America after winning the world cup. The fans believed that after accomplishing literally everything in football, he deserved to live out the final years of his career in peace.
After Ronaldo arrived in the Spanish top flight, he proved to be a nightmare for defenders, and it was as if scoring goals was his hobby. Despite his best efforts, though, Real Madrid continued to play second fiddle to Barcelona as they had less trophies to showcase. That all changed in 2014 when he led his team to their first Champions League title in 12 years. The CL title win was a morale booster for the whole team and motivated the players to hunt for more. In 2016, the club brought a footballing great as a manager as they were optimistic in their hopes for silverware.
Zinedine Zidane was surely instrumental in Real Madrid’s history defining 3 peat (winning 3 consecutive Champions League titles in 2016, 2017 & 2018 respectively) but it was Cristiano’s consistency in front of goal, as the competition’s top scorer in all 3 campaigns, that brought his team to the finish line. At the end of 2018, he was severely criticized for his shock move to Juventus where he ultimately ended up winning many titles as well. Now, he is at Saudi Arabian Club, Al-Nassr, where he is also living up to expectations).
Two Icons
Messi’s 819 all-time career goals with 361 assists in 1,042 appearances against Ronaldo’s 855 goals with 242 assists in 1,186 appearances is insane! Branding these statistics other-worldly doesn’t even do those players justice. The Barcelona vs. Real Madrid matches featuring Messi and Ronaldo were able to draw so many more viewers compared to the team’s other matches due to the star power they brought with them. Surely, those eight years (2009-2017) were the most entertaining ones for football fans, not just in Spain, but all around the world, because of the magnificence on display in literally every game, due to the two greats pushing each other to perform as well as they could.
Even though the audience has an unexplainable passion for football, the fanbases of these two legends are so divisive, always arguing about who is better. But now that the Messi-Ronaldo era is over as they are both riding off into the sunset, let’s cherish the wonderful memories they gave us instead of comparing them. Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo will forever be remembered in the history books as two of the absolute best to ever grace the game of football, and I, along with millions of others, am just grateful to have witnessed all of it.
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